Boks need Malcolm to leave Marx

Bok hooker integral if Coetzee’s men are to return from tour with dignity

OVER YOU GO: South Africa’s Malcolm Marx was the best Springbok on the field by far against France this past weekend.

Isure hope Malcom Marx gets cleared to play today. I really do. There’s not much of an explanation needed, I think.

The Springboks just need him.

The Springbok and Lions hooker – who picked up a shoulder injury when the Boks scraped through to bag an 18-17 win against France last weekend – went for an MRI scan on Monday. Although the scan revealed no major injury, team doctor Konrad von Hagen said that he would have to recover from some soft tissue bruising and would be “given as much time as possible to recover.”

Bok coach Allister Coetzee is set to name his matchday 23 later today, and has already indicated that he will chosse his strongest possinle side.

Marx, therefore, is in the mix and as he is back to his bustling best, that kind of presence will be much needed for the Boks going forward on this tour.

The Springboks have already opened their end-of-year tour proceedings with a record 38-3 defeat to Ireland, and an unconvincing win over France didn’t do much to ease the pressure off the Boks.

So, if Allister Coetzee and Co want to return to South Africa with at least a crumb of dignity, they are going to have to beat Italy.

Sure, that task seems like a given, but then again, we all know what happened in Padova last year.

Beating Wales in the last match of the tour is going to be a tough assignment for the Boks.

Which brings us back to Marx.

In a game with very few positives in Paris last weekend, Marx was one of the few shining lights on a field that had its fair share of fused bulbs (individually and in terms of play).

He made big carries and powered and slipped his way out of the hands of the French – you know, his usual stuff. He was all over Stade de France.

And it’s his usual stuff that’s going to be needed this weekend.

Sure, the Boks do have back-up should Marx not be available to play on Saturday.

There’s the Sharks’ Chiliboy Ralepelle and there’s Stormers front-rower Bongi Mbonambi – a good No 2 in his own right, a No 2 who also knows his way around a rugby field – but he just doesn’t offer everything that Marx does. Does anyone really? I understand that Bongi and Chiliboy also need game time, and the last thing I want is for two black players to spend the tour wasted on the bench or making sure the bus is on time. But the problem is that the Boks just can’t afford to be without Marx, if not against Italy, then certainly against Wales.

The concern that bordered on panic in South African rugby circles regarding Marx’s line-out throwing has somewhat seemed to drop a few levels this season.

Yes, there’s been the occasional line-out dart that the 23-year-old might have misdirected, but his work at the set-piece has improved significantly and his contribution in general play speaks for itself (think of his metres gained, his tackles made, his carries made, and those turnovers made, of course).

Marx’s power, his ball-handling ability, his work at the breakdowns and his always-everywhere work rate will be a massive asset for the Springboks this weekend, and that can’t be doubted.

Earlier this week, Springboks scrum coach Matt Proudfoot spoke about the Italian threat when it comes to stopping forward momentum at the breakdown – an area that Marx has stamped his name on in bold.

And when it comes to stopping their momentum, well, that’s where Marx will come in quite handy as well. With Dane Coles injured, you name me a better hooker in world rugby at the moment than Marx.

That’s why the Boks need him.